Oregon reported 342 new confirmed or presumed cases of the coronavirus Tuesday, with five new deaths linked to the contagious disease. The new numbers put the state’s total cases at 19,699 since the outbreak reached the state earlier this year; 333 people have died from the virus as of Tuesday.
The Oregon Health Authority reports that most of the new COVID-19 cases stem from Umatilla (61), Multnomah (57), Malheur (33) and Washington (29) counties. The five new deaths included:
Related: COVID-19 by the numbers
How does the weather affect the spread of COVID?
When the outbreak first started in the winter, many people looked forward to the summer with hopes that the warmer weather would make it harder for the new coronavirus to spread. Weather does play a role in the proliferation of illness spread — think about cold and flu seasons in dry, winter months — but does it hold true for this new coronavirus?
So far, there isn’t enough data to say for certain. And recent spikes across the nation complicate the picture. But OPB spoke with Dr. Dawn Nolt, the medical director for infection prevention and control at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, about what science knows about the effects of weather on viruses.
Copyright 2020 Oregon Public Broadcasting
